Event Horizon
by The DayDreaming
Summary: Strange things have been happening lately in the virtual reality MMO 'Zero Event.' Unbeatable monsters, modded characters, and a rumor that if you get killed by 'the golden eye' you fall into a coma in real life. Kuroko Tetsuya ignores the hearsay until a contact disappears and a player by the name of Kagami parties with him to solve the mystery. / KagaKuro, elements from .Hack
1. Prologue

Video game AUs seem pretty popular right now, ehehe. This is a bit of a fusion fic that will borrow a lot of elements and inspiration from the .Hack series, G.U. in particular since I'm the most familiar with its material. Please note this is more of a pilot test than anything. If people like it, then I'll continue and we can see Kuroko and Kagami meet next chapter and finally get some context. TuT

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**Event Horizon**

_Prologue_

**.**

The boss at the bottom of the dungeon was a large mass of scaly tentacles and dripping teeth, breath visible as a pluming red miasma that seeped across the floor and gathered around the feet of the players standing before it. Its writhing form, reaching all the way to the ceiling of the enclosed stone room, waited patiently for a challenge.

"Do we have a plan for this thing?" a nervous voice whispered over the group chat, the smiling icon of the fidgety blonde-haired girl stationed at the front of the party flashing for a moment out of everyone's peripheral vision. Despite the battle in this dungeon not being triggered by audio cues like in more difficult quests, the sheer size of the creature instilled the somewhat newer players with fear and awe.

The leader of the party stepped forward, a tall, muscularly-built man hefting a broadsword over his shoulder. "Nah. We haven't had one the entire time we've been in this shithole. What makes this any different?"

"O-oh. Haha…," the blonde trailed off. Her fidgeting increased to an anxious swaying, dual blades dangling at her sides in tight fists.

The leader clapped her shoulder, stilling her movements as he smirked down. "Don't worry. Charge in and set up your usual chains. We'll be right behind you. Kuroko will heal you up no problem once he's done buffing, yeah?"

"Yes," Kuroko said, inclining his head slightly at the order. The blonde jumped, not expecting the resident healer to appear right beside her. He hadn't spoken much at all throughout the evening, and would almost have been a non-entity on the group call had his icon not appeared every now and then if he took a particularly large breath into his mic after a close battle. He sidled away from the pair, positioning himself in the back behind their tank player, a woman decked out in heavily-gilded armor. She was meant to protect him while he began the usual series of buffs on the players, raising their defense, attack, and criticals before launching into an alternating series of quick healing spells and light attack spells.

Kuroko let his eyes flick over everyone's status screens quickly, noting the full bars and pre-battle buffs for speed already in place. Their seven man team had worked tirelessly for the last five hours to explore a lengthy dungeon nestled in a seaside cavern under the foam-riddled cliffs edging a minor town. He'd only worked with the leader, a player with a few months of experience in the game, named Valient Knite, a few times before. He was charismatic as far as leadership was concerned, managing to corral the two newer players in the party deftly. Their low levels and inexperience were a hindrance but Kuroko could admire their determination to see the dungeon through to the end, despite having to be revived multiple times throughout the crawl. If he wasn't mistaken, he was sure Valient Knite would send them invites to his budding new guild once they had finished.

"Let's go!"

The shout was more of a battle cry, signaling the blonde girl, a quick rogue, to launch at the boss. Her sudden proximity activated the boss fight, causing the menacing creature to spring to life in an instant, sweeping the floor with a tentacle that knocked her and a charging Valient Knite to the floor immediately. The players behind them ignored their downed teammates, rushing the tentacle creature with gusto, the pings and clangs of virtual swords on flesh echoing in the vast cavern.

Kuroko huddled off to the side, casting buff spells as quickly as he could. The tank standing in front of him huffed impatiently, watching as another tentacle swept out and knocked the remaining players to the ground. A second tentacle slammed onto the floor, its shockwave knocking down Valient Knite and the rogue who had just succeeded in standing again.

"Shit," the armored woman hissed, readying her battle axe. "Jump over them!"

Kuroko activated another buff, adding increased attack to the players' now improved defense, eyeing the monster warily. It was acting oddly, he noted, attacking the players viciously. He'd fought it before but had never seen the AI of a level twenty boss so efficiently assault an attacking party. It would usually sweep the players and then attack a singular fighter, not the entire group, and not with the shockwave attack it usually reserved for when its health dropped below fifty percent.

"It's strange," he said aloud, voice almost swallowed up by the panicked voices of the other call participants. Valient Knite was shouting orders, though his comrades could hardly follow the commands before another tentacle assaulted them. "These aren't the usual patterns for this enemy. It should only be going for one person right now. After three attacks it'll use its red mist to inflict status ailments, then repeat the sweep attack."

"Well it doesn't seem like it has a pattern. Hurry up and start healing, you're taking too long," the tank woman scoffed before charging in, jumping a lashing limb and slamming her hammer down against the creature's scaly hide. Kuroko shook his head at the reckless charge. The woman's username was something unpronounceable, and as an unpleasant talker overall, he hadn't bothered to dub her as anything more than 'tank' in his own mind.

Bereft of a shield, he switched to a light group healing spell that activated instantly at the cost of a large chunk of MP. He eyed his MP bar disdainfully. Attacks seemed to be taking more magic than usual, meaning the boss had some sort of innate skill that caused them to increase their power usage. It was not something a boss of this level should know, he thought.

"Thanks, Kuroko!" Valient Knite called, picking himself up and finally getting a successful power charge in on the gigantic boss, the crimson glow of a sword skill bathing the room in red. The blonde rogue rose from the floor, looking worse for wear. Her health had been depleted by a good three quarters and her avatar slumped slightly, panting in time with the player's own anxious breathing.

Kuroko cast another healing spell, removing the downed status of a whip-user at the same time. With the last of his MP he placed a constant healing spell that would hopefully last long enough for him to replenish some MP, though most of his magic potion stock had been consumed in the battles before this boss.

As he hot-keyed the use of a basic magic potion a giant tentacle swept at him, knocking his character from its place against the wall and causing it to skitter across the floor like a ragdoll. Disoriented as the screen spun, he tried to move his head. It was oddly difficult to lift it from the floor. He could hear Valient Knite cursing and another voice groan; the corner of his vision caught the greyed-out body of the whip-user laying quietly, a bloody splatter surrounding him.

He attempted to move his avatar again, only to find that the annoying downed status was still in place, keeping him immobile and unable to fling a revival scroll at the lifeless body. A scream tore over the group call, emanating from the tank woman.

In front of Kuroko a scaled tentacle smashed the heavy-armor against the floor, ripping another scream free from her lips. Her avatar writhed in the appendage's strong grip, seeming to reach out to his own downed character before being lifted from the floor and slammed down again.

"What's going on?" he could hear Valient Knite mutter. "This isn't right. This isn't…"

Kuroko watched the downed status on his screen carefully, waiting for the moment it lifted so he could dash to safety and cast a mass heal spell to salvage their remaining fighters. This plan was immediately crushed as his vision swerved and flashed red around the edges. His avatar was lifted from the floor with a sudden yank, a tentacle from the boss wrapping vice-like around his waist. "I've been caught," he spoke quietly into his mic.

As he was raised higher up, he spotted tank woman struggling in the grip of the tentacle. Her scream was deafening as she was plummeted head-first into the ground again, a crunch and splatter of red signifying her death. His ears rung at the piercing cry, though afterward the woman didn't make another sound. Kuroko watched the fighting down below as he dangled helplessly. The boss didn't seem inclined to give him the same treatment as tank woman, but he wasn't sure how long this borrowed safety would last.

Looking at his menu and seeing his spells active despite being hung in the air, he cast his strongest healing spell, perking up the four remaining avatars below as they desperately dodged the boss' attacks. The boss seemed to have stopped its shockwave assault and had taken to just lashing out at the players as they tried to attack. It was oddly…complacent. At least compared to earlier.

"Isn't it going too slowly now?" he asked, receiving several vague grunts and 'this is slow?!' from the other newbie in the group, a tottering lance-user that often mixed up his skills.

"Kuroko's right," Valient Knite said. Kuroko could spot his figure dashing away from a tentacle swipe and charging in again with another sword skill. "It might be readying something."

"What's that?!" the blonde rogue cried, avatar stopping to point at a slit that appeared in the center of the mass of tentacle. The avatar was immediately slammed into a wall for her distraction, though after the strike all the other tentacles retreated back to coil at the base of the boss, leaving the fighters on the floor to retreat and gather together to desperately apply healing items. Kuroko was still left to hang, though he was lowered to be level with the slit as it gradually split apart, revealing a large golden eye.

He sucked in a breath at the sight, unable to tear his gaze away as the eye stared at him—through him—glassy and huge, a fierce, melting ocean. It made his skin crawl, breath hitching in his throat involuntarily as a scream nestling against his teeth readied to be released.

It was a primal terror, something that welled within him like an unstoppable wave. He could distantly hear his comrades shouting in alarm at the sight.

The eye blinked, looked down at the party members on the ground, and as if just remembering that they were there, crinkled the scaly skin around itself, as though amused. In the same instant the golden iris glowed harshly and shot a beam that bore down on the player avatars in a wrathful wave, washing them in radiant white. Even as the light blinded him, Kuroko could see the forms of his teammates slowly blacken, digital skin peeling away and whittling down to bone before dispersing into ash.

The call line was startlingly silent as it occurred. Kuroko at least expected to hear Valient Knite's usual cursing, but instead only heard dead air, as though the players themselves had disappeared into the light.

Left alone, Kuroko could only stare numbly at the spot where his leader had once stood before settling his still red-tinged gaze at the eye. It gazed back at him, pupil dilating and constricting in turns. It brought his avatar closer, and from Kuroko's first person view he could make out the detailed gradations in the large eye, from sunny yellow to burnt sienna.

Kuroko held his breath, waiting for the iris to glow again. He could feel the sweat on his palms, making the controller slippery as he gripped it between shaky fingers. This was not a normal boss at the end of a slightly-longer-than-normal dungeon. This didn't seem like a boss at all.

As if sensing his thoughts, the eye crinkled again, almost folding back into a dark slit. In one swift motion the entire mass of tentacles lifted up, thrusting back to reveal a gaping hole for a maw edged in razor teeth. The red miasma emanated from the center.

The not-boss tossed Kuroko in the air and swallowed him whole.

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The group call remained unnervingly quiet, each character icon replaced with that same haunting golden eye, staring at him. The call cycled through the icons one by one until his appeared, unmarred. The blank gaze of his avatar felt almost like an accusation, accosting him with its blue eyes and neutral frown.

A screen popped up, cheerily announcing, "You have died! Would you like to revive in the nearest town?"

In the darkness of the Game Over screen, Kuroko Tetsuya, veteran gamer of Zero Event, one of the world's largest and most popular MMOs, wondered why it was he even bothered playing anymore.

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Dems the rocks, Kuroko. And lol, you know you're not good with names when your preferred one is taken, so you just misspell Valiant Knight to try and look cool.

As someone who has loved the .Hack series for a very long time, I've always toyed with the idea of making a fanfic around the concept of a video that sends you into a coma, though I haven't had the courage because I'm not incredibly familiar with current MMOs. But I'll try my best to research and not sound like such a dumb shit, if you guys would like for another chapter! (Also no, I haven't watched Sword Art Online, though I've been told it works along the premise of the player dying in real life. Otherwise, I don't know jack about the series, sorry!)

_**Kuroko as a healer?:**_ Will be explained next chapter, but I can see it, lol. In this chapter, I wanted to show that he's still very new with being a sideline healer, and his skill tree isn't very developed at all. But he didn't start out as a healer and is inexperienced with the role. But still, tank woman is super rude.

_**How is this game being played?:**_ Much like .Hack and other shows with the same video game premise, they're using a sort of headset that covers the eyes and uses virtual reality to project the game. The controller is more necessary for beginner characters that don't have a good grasp of their skill tree yet, but players who have mastered their skill tree and know the names and effects of skills can more easily play without the controller, using thought and voice command to flow seamlessly through battle.

So there it is. I hope you guys liked it. Please tell me if you're interested in me continuing to write this. I haven't written much fanfiction in years so my style is a bit rusty, but hopefully not so bad for this setting. Pairings aren't set in stone, though I heavily lean towards KagaKuro since they're my babes.


	2. Player Killer

Hey all! Back again. I forgot to mention last chapter that I'll be cross-posting this on AO3 as well. A more complete summary is being used there, but I'll provide it here, too:

_Strange things have been happening lately in the popular virtual reality MMO 'Zero Event.' Unbeatable monsters, modded characters, and a rumor that if you get killed by 'the golden eye' you fall into a coma in real life._

_Kuroko Tetsuya ignores the hearsay until a player named Valient Knite disappears from a failed dungeon crawl. Newbie player Kagami Taiga, with his strange ability to 'smell' the odd power of the mysterious enemy invading the game, seems like the perfect choice as an ally to find the root of the strange occurrences. Though, as they submerge deeper into the intricacies of the false world, truths about the 'Eight Kings' and the missing players could be the least of Kagami and Kuroko's concerns._

Please enjoy this chapter as Kagami makes his grand entrance and Kuroko steals the show!

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**Event Horizon**

_Chapter 1: Player Killer_

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This was the third time it had happened.

Kuroko stared warily at the closed slit running across his forearm. While it hadn't shown up on the character loading screen, the moment he logged in the character model altered, displaying several fleshy slits on his arms. Checking a mirror that hung decoratively in the Gateport hub, he could make out the presence of a marble-sized eyeball staring sightlessly, embedded in his cheek. Two smaller eyes sat like beads under the larger one, twitching in circles. The more he stared, the more it felt like they were watching him back.

He turned away from the mirror, catching sight of a couple players logging into the server. Their characters didn't show any sign of visible alteration, and with a quick scan, he confirmed that most players in the hall appeared unchanged. His perusal paused as he caught sight of a woman standing in a corner. Her character was still, dazedly looking ahead and unmoving. Most characters came with an inherent sway or breathing pattern which altered alongside the user, something to mimic everyday motions and make the avatars seem more lifelike.

This woman was like a statue. Stepping closer, he could make out her mouth moving through several animations over and over again, though what she was saying was unclear. Closer inspection revealed a cluster of five tiny eyeballs embedded under the woman's jawbone. They blinked sluggishly, dilated pupils almost hiding the edge of gold irises.

Kuroko gave a mental command to take a screenshot, hearing the sound of a camera snapping in his mind. He opened up her character profile, taking several more pictures. It all looked like a jumbled mess, the text altered and shifted out of place, and sometimes entirely illegible. The longer he stared, the more he noticed his own vision flickering, black lines and graininess overcoming his sight. He exited the menu, starting as he realized the five eyes had aligned their vision to settle on him heavily.

Stepping away, he wandered out of the Gateport hub, sidling unnoticed into an alley. The flickering hadn't stopped, and seemed to be getting worse as he wandered further.

Time to log out, he thought, lifting his arm and staring at the eye slits that dotted the surface. They had begun to split open, gold peeking through.

The third avatar that had become affected by some strange character mod virus. He was sure it was from that monster yesterday. As he activated the log out, he wondered if the others had been altered in the same way.

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As far as Kagami Taiga could tell, Zero Event was much like any other overhyped virtual reality online game. The graphics were saturated with color, the costumes were skimpy or impractical, and the battle system was a common, intuitive program that gradually moved the player from beginner gamer status into moderately competent fighter.

It was the first time he had logged in, flipping through the character creation screen with bored ease. It seemed almost the same as any other game he'd played, with an option to keep the character face and body the same as in real life. He'd never been particular with messing around with the body alteration options, and so had left it alone.

He'd picked a basic lancer class, doling out his given customization points in strength and speed. He'd never played as a lancer before, instead favoring things like heavyswords or battle axes, but he figured since it was a new game for him, someplace to start fresh, he'd go ahead and try a different role. Also, though he wouldn't admit it out loud, there was something about seeing himself in the lancer armor and slinging a temporary spear around that had made him wonder why he'd never tried the class before.

It had felt strangely right, seeing the avatar become sketched out and real. After he'd finalized his choices, the clone had opened its eyes. Suddenly, he wasn't 'Kagami Taiga,' a bored high schooler still adjusting to Japan after moving back from America, but merely 'KAGAMI,' a beginner lancer in a new town. The screen had shifted from the colorful creation menu to a black screen, which slowly faded into a busy hall, bustling with other players.

Words scrolled at the side of his vision and a neutral female voice announced, "Welcome. Ventus: Capital City Aeolus – Main Gateport."

He glanced around, taking note of the other players logging in. Many were dressed similarly to him, wearing the most basic armor and staring in confused wonder at the splendor of the hall. He stepped aside, opening his menu at the same time. There were things out of place from the last game he'd played, but it didn't look too difficult to figure out. Just as he was looking to enter into his options menu and adjust his settings, a voice cleared its throat with a delicate cough. He glanced up, directly into the smiling face of a girl.

"Hi!" she chirped, waving briskly enough to have the newsy cap perched on her head threatened to fall off.

"…hi?" he replied back, furrowing his brows. Her face was slightly blocked by the open menu. Undeterred by his gruff response, she continued to stand there. With a sigh, Kagami dismissed the menu, turning his full attention on her. "Can I…help you?"

"Yes!" she replied, leaning forward slightly. Kagami leaned back, sneering. "You just logged in, right? For the first time?"

"Yeah," he said, scratching the back of his head.

"Mmhm, I figured as much! That means you don't have any experience or levels, right?"

"I suppose?" he leaned back even further, slightly perturbed as the girl scrunched her arms against her chest, emphasizing the curve of her breasts through the low V-neck of her tunic. It was a little weird to be walked up to like this. He generally looked too intimidating for girls to take much notice of him, in real life and in online games.

"Well that's ok! You see, a couple friends and I are building a party of new players to go out to a field and fight monsters. We're at a higher level, and we love helping newbies out! The best way to get experience in this game is by fighting, so just being around other players that can take out monsters will help you grow," she said, voice bubbly. "What do you think? Join our party? We have three other new guys, too! We'll split the treasure evenly, I swear!"

"Uuuh…," slipped elegantly from his mouth. Was there any harm in this? She looked sincere enough, and as he glanced over his shoulder, he caught sight of a group of six other people milling about and peeking in his direction. Three of the players looked to have basic armor, while the other three had on better equipment.

How many tutorial quests were there in the city, anyway? Gaining levels easily through monster kills in a group seemed like a good way to get past the early stages that were always so tedious in MMOs. The only harm could be an unfortunate group of unskilled or stupid teammates, and if that happened, he was good enough to deal with things on his own. As he thought it out, a party invite popped onto his screen. The same voice that had announced the name of the server repeated the text on the window, "Haruka_Cho has invited you to join a party. Would you like to accept?"

He'd have to remember to turn off the voice once he got a chance to look at his settings. It was annoying to have the voice pop up on even simple messages. He quickly pressed 'yes,' grimacing as the voice announced in an almost cheery fashion, "You have joined Haruka-Cho's party!" The statuses of the seven other party members popped onto the side of his screen, icons neutral or smiling recreations of their characters.

"Great! Nice to meet you, KAGAMI-kun!" Haruka_Cho chirped again, taking him by the arm and leading him to the group of players. They perked up with interest at his arrival, some craning their heads back to stare at the tall redhead. "We've got our eighth player, guys! Let's get going. We're going to show you how to make your own field dungeon and everything."

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Haruka-Cho's explanation had been a bit vague, but Kagami thought he understood most of it. There were several different types of areas to explore on the servers. Cities and towns created focal gathering places, while an overworld with predefined locations that allowed players to travel between cities and complete quests connected these hubs. The overworld and towns were a good place to meet other players and train, or complete minigames and other game mechanics like crafting.

These things Kagami already knew, so he tuned out until Haruka_Cho finally began elaborating on field dungeons.

"The overworld is great and all, but monsters don't give much experience and the quests get really boring. The best thing to do is create a dungeon that you can explore. All the enemies are higher quality, and it's where you get a ton of items and materials. Quests will even start sending you to dungeons to complete certain tasks there. So you might as well start in a dungeon!"

"But what about the tutorial quests?" one of the new players asked. It was a puny-looking archer that seemed to hunch in on himself, clutching at his bow. Kagami was annoyed just by looking at him. He smelled weak; he'd bet the guy wouldn't last more than a couple days before giving up on the game entirely. "I-it's important to do them, right? I don't really understand what to do."

Haruka_Cho smiled, sidling up to the newbie and clapping a delicate, gloved hand on his shoulder. She leaned on him, making his posture bow even further. "Don't worry! We're here and we're as good as any tutorial. Right, guys?"

The three other players nodded, two sword-users and an axeman. They'd been staring around the hall in a bored manner while Haruka_Cho gave her explanation, though seemed to perk up as she acknowledged them.

"Now, to make a field dungeon, or any dungeon, really, you just need a few words. They're keywords, and you guys only get a few at first, but you'll start hearing more and more from other players and NPCs. They sorta decide where you're gonna go by having properties in them, and on the different servers, they go to different areas—"

"Hey, Cho-chan, enough with the lecture, yeah? Let's just get going!" one of the swordsman butted in. The smirk on his face gave off an unpleasant sense of smugness. With a drawn out sigh, Haruka-Cho extricated herself from her human leaning post and moved towards what must have been the Gateport.

The Gateport was a great, gleaming orb of silver liquid suspended over nine golden rings embedded in the floor. Its surface rippled, and as players wandered up to it and teleported, the orb shattered like glass, breaking and reforming quietly. It was a cool effect, Kagami could admit.

"A good area would be…ah!" Haruka_Cho piped up, holding her arm out towards the Gateport. "Abandoned Novice Ruination."

The silver orb shifted and shattered, and Kagami found himself being drawn in, the world brightening and then fading in the next moment to reveal a field covered in endless rows of lilacs. The flowers swayed in the breeze, perfuming the air sweetly. He could hear the gasps of some of the party members at the sight, caught up in the sea of purple that trailed on into the deep blue horizon. Being late afternoon, the sun had begun its descent.

"Great, right?" Haruka_Cho said, popping up in front of his face. Studying him a bit more, she furrowed her brows. "You don't seem too amazed by it."

"It's just a bunch of flowers. I've played games with sceneries like this before," he said, cracking his neck and rubbing the back of his head at her pout.

She backed away with a huff and started walking out in-between the rows of lilacs, calling out behind her, "C'mon, let's go! The monsters will get progressively stronger at night. Let's find the treasure!"

The group followed, Kagami wedged near the middle, flanked on both sides by chatty new players. It unnerved him that the two swordsmen and the axeman stayed at the back, watching them with daunting smirks. It made him feel exposed, and as the first monster appeared, bursting from the grass with a screech and sending the nervous archer from earlier into a hyperventilating panic attack, he wondered if maybe he'd misjudged the easy and kind smiles of the players here.

The more veteran players hung back, Cho shouting out an encouraging 'You can handle it!' alongside them.

He glanced at the startled players around him, some frozen in fear while the others looked confused, probably trying to figure out how to work the controller and attack. None of them seemed like they had ever played a VR game before. He clicked his tongue and smirked. He was pretty sure he had a good idea of what was going on.

With a roar he drew his spear, summoning it with a flare of light into his hand and spinning it around before leveling it at the monster, some sort of large lizardman carrying a cutlass. "Get it together! If you want to stand around and do nothing, fine by me! But don't get in the way!"

He'd long surpassed the need for a controller that flipped through a menu of moves for him to use. It was distracting and could block visibility. In the end, he was much more the kind of guy that went on instinct, and Zero Event's famed intuitive fighting system, which had been the first of its kind when the game had debuted on the market, was a perfect match.

He charged the lizard, spear pointed forward. It easily surpassed the lizardman's cutlass' range, slicing into its shoulder. Kagami tugged the spear free and leapt away from the lizardman's enraged swipe, catching it upside the jaw with the spear once more, causing it to hiss and recoil. He was surprised that after the quick counter, an arrow whistled past his shoulder and landed squarely in the monster's throat. He glanced over his shoulder, catching sight of the nervous archer pulling back another bolt on his bow and biting his lip.

With a smirk he turned back around, charging again and lashing the spear down on the monster. It gave a raspy rattle before collapsing and dissolving into black mist, leaving behind a bag of money and a box which, when he touched it, revealed itself as a material item called lizard skin. The money was split evenly amongst the eight party members, which Kagami thought was incredibly awful, considering what a paltry sum it was in the first place.

"Good job, guys! I knew you could do it!" Haruka_Cho called, bouncing up to the four players and flashing a cutesy peace sign. Some of the newbies visibly blushed, but all Kagami could think about was how only him and the bow guy had done anything. "Let's go, let's go! Fight a few more of those guys and you're sure to level up!"

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This particular field dungeon worked like a maze. There were pathways through the flowers, and as they went on, the flowers grew taller and taller until they towered overhead like fragrant, purple walls. The game's sensory specs made it difficult to ignore the scent of the lilacs, something else he'd have to alter once he had the time to look at the settings menu.

They reached an open area free of the pesky, giant lilacs, which nestled right against a cliff, around sunset. The panoramic view provided by the open space was breathtaking. The same nine concentric gold circles that had lain under the Gateport now stood before them, raised from the ground and hovering in the air. The gold circles were actually thick bands that had what appeared to be runes stamped into their sides.

"Woo! Finally. You guys took forever," Haruka_Cho said, yawning and stretching her arms over her head. She stepped toward the levitating circles, stride confident. "It's really tiring watching you newbies fight."

"That's where the treasure is, right?" a boy spoke up. Kagami remembered he hadn't fought very well, only managing a few strikes since most of the enemies had outrun his monstrously large blade.

"Yup! Normally, it's kinda hard to decide who gets the treasure, since there's so many of us. Buuuut," she trilled and turned around, grinning viciously. Kagami spun around at the sight, just in time to see the blade of one of the swordsmen pierce through the heavysword's stomach. Kagami could see that the blow had instantly taken half the player's health. The player stared disbelievingly, not quite comprehending the sight before the swordsman pulled the blade back and swung again.

The player dropped to the ground, body graying out while red, red blood began to pool around it.

"Oh my god," the archer beside him whispered. "Oh my god, they—they just—"

"Move!" Kagami shouted, inciting the archer and a mage to sprint away as fast as they could. The mage was quickly caught by the axeman, brutally batted aside and left on the ground. Since they were closest, Kagami made a beeline for the stocky fighter, hefting his spear and raking it across the player's face. It didn't do quite as much damage as he'd like, but with the axeman's incredibly short reach and slow speed, he scored another strike before backing away. The axe-user charged him immediately, snarling a curse that was swallowed when a bolt of lightning fell from the sky. The mage had gathered his wits and powered up a spell with Kagami's distraction.

The magic, chosen for its ability to slightly stun an opponent, had the axeman stuttering to a halt for a moment, teeth gritted as he attempted to move. Kagami clenched his spear, concentrating on using the new power strike skill he'd gained after leveling up for the fourth time in the last battle. His spear glowed red, and with a loud war cry he charged forward, skewering the axeman's head and landing a critical hit. Another lightning bolt fell from the sky as he leapt back, killing the player's remaining health and dropping the grayed out avatar to its knees.

"Player killers. I figured that it'd come to this," he muttered, turning around to observe the archer attempting to keep the two remaining swordsmen at bay. His bow was an effective long-distance weapon that he was able to fire rapidly, chipping at the swordsmens' health, though he seemed to be focused on keeping them away. Alongside Kagami's power strike, the archer had learned an explosive skill called Incendiary Launch, which fired several arrows in a line that exploded on contact. The PKers had tried to avoid the arrows, which took out significant chunks of health if activated. Alongside the archer's peppering, it made it difficult to get close enough to end him.

"Focus on defeating one at a time; try the one on the left," he said to the mage, who had stood on shaky legs. His health had been severely depleted from the axeman's attack. He wouldn't last against another strike.

Kagami ran forward, bracing his spear and piercing the swordsman on the left before dodging away as quickly as he could when the player turned to swipe at him. The blade nicked his arm, dropping his health a bit. It wasn't a significant amount compared to the mage, but thinking about the two swordsman turning on him at the same time was dangerous.

He grinned, hefting his spear again. He felt strong and exhilarated against them, even if the odds weren't favorable. He wouldn't give up, even if there were a hundred PKers bearing down on him. They hadn't lost yet.

Another lightning bolt fell from the sky, catching both swordsmen in its area of effect. Once again he took advantage of the short stun period by forming a power strike and driving it into the frozen swordsman's gut. The body flew backwards, landing in a cluster of incendiary arrows that exploded upon impact. He tried to see if the player had been taken out by the attack but had to dodge as the other swordsman transitioned back into motion.

This swordsman was clearly faster than his companions, whipping his sword around immediately to cut through Kagami's guard. The blood of a successful strike wasn't visible, only appearing when the avatar was knocked out, but if it had shown, he was sure it would trace from his shoulder down to his hip. A quick check of his health confirmed that he'd been knocked down to half with a single blow.

"You said these guys would be easy," the swordsman called, backing out of reach of Kagami's spear. "They took out Grindel and Takeshi-kun."

"Ooops," a tittery voice replied. Kagami realized with a sinking dread that he'd completely forgotten about Haruka_Cho, the one who'd so easily lured them all here. "I guess they got a little too much experience. But I think that's all the better for us, huh? More fun. And don't you like chipping them down and watching the fear in their eyes? Grindel would just hack away at them and not even savor the moment!"

Kagami took a moment to peek at their levels, something he hadn't thought to do before, gritting his teeth at the glaring number 10 that planted itself in the swordsman's level slot. Five levels stronger. He was also more skilled than his companions, though as Kagami saw it, he'd only learned a couple effective combos which made him look good. Haruka_Cho sat at level 7; not as daunting a number, but he hadn't seen her in battle yet.

"Hehe, I wasn't complaining 'bout the leftovers, Cho-chan. Don't forget to take screenshots so we can post 'em on the boards," the swordsman said, grinning. "I want a close up of Spear-tan here, too, for my personal collection."

"Bastard," Kagami grunted, at the same time the archer cried out, "You're sick!"

"Aww, don't cry. We want you to look your best on the boards!" Cho snickered, withdrawing a rapier that gleamed crimson in the dying sunlight. In fact, Kagami could see its red aura and dodged to the side as the fencer charged across the field, realizing too late that she was aiming for the mage. The mage could only gasp before the rapier pierced his heart, white robes fading to dull gray even as a carmine bloom seeped across the garment. "Oooops~!"

"Stop!" the archer shouted, loosing a rain of incendiary arrows around Haruka_Cho. A few exploded, damaging her avatar slightly. He shot a couple more, causing her to stagger and trip over the mage's body, setting off another chain of explosions.

Kagami let his attention turn to the swordsman, who had been readying a special attack of his own. If the mage had been alive, it would have been good to stun the sword-user so that he'd have to pause in charging his attack, but since it wasn't possible, he ran forward recklessly, slashing quickly at the player's chest, hoping to get a critical strike.

It did little to deter the coming attack. "Eat this!" the swordsman called, swiping his sword and creating a blade of red, crackling energy that flew forward, rending the ground. Kagami dodged to the side, cursing as the aura of the energy caught his leg and knocked off a chunk of health.

He could see another volley of incendiary arrows landing behind him, and heard an enraged shriek as they activated. Maybe if he could—

"Where ya running to, Spear-tan?" the swordsman called as the redhead launched himself towards Cho. "Don't you want some more?"

"Shut the hell up!" he shouted over his shoulder, catching sight of the swordsman's glowing blade.

The archer temporarily stopped his assault as Kagami ran in range of his arrows, trying to decide if he should try shooting the swordsman instead. His nearly full HP bar was worrying, and he was a direct shot with his back turned. But he held his arrow, powering an Incendiary Launch and keeping his eyes peeled. Out of his peripheral he caught sight of something, though his attention was diverted when the swordsman shouted again.

"Get back here, Spear-tan! Let's pluck those silly eyebrows of yours!" the swordsman shrieked out, launching another slicing blade that barreled across the field directly toward Kagami.

Haruka_Cho, still recovering from the stun of so many explosions and looking worse for wear, didn't realize what hit her until the looming form of Kagami shadowed her. Grabbing her arm, he spun her around, using the momentum to move out of the direct path of the blade beam. Her scream of surprise was cut short as the attack sliced through her easily, leaving two grayed-out halves to lie on the charred grass.

Kagami wasn't left unharmed, though. The blade beam had activated the nest of incendiary arrows, the ensuing explosions tossing him across the field and draining his health to almost nothing. He tried to push himself up, the avatar body responding more slowly as the damage to his legs took its toll, only to find himself kicked onto his back. A booted foot stomped itself against his neck.

"How dare you! How dare you do that to Cho-chan!" the swordsman snarled, grinding the boot down more. The action didn't do anything to his health, but it did keep Kagami from moving. "I kill you! I'll fucking kill you!"

"You're the one attacking players! Face the consequences of your actions," Kagami snarled back, wrapping a hand around the guy's ankle to try and pull him off. This did nothing to stop the swordsman from raising his sword above his head, preparing a finishing blow that was sure to embed itself into Kagami's skull.

"Please stop," a voice said, cutting through the tension. It seemed to make the swordsman freeze, though as Kagami craned his strained neck, he could see something like shadowy fingers holding his limbs in place.

An arrow slammed into the swordsman from behind, knocking him off of Kagami. He used the opportunity to scramble back, watching as the swordsman collapsed to his feet, unable to move. When he looked towards the altar, where the new voice had sounded from, he could make out a boy against the brightness of the setting sun.

Blue hair and blue eyes were the only distinct things he identified. The smell of lilacs and fire permeated the air, choking him.

"Who are you?" the swordsman hissed, faced contorted in rage as he strained at the shadowy fingers. "When did you get here?!"

Expression unchanging, the boy said, "I've been here all along."

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There's only room enough for one cool dude in this chapter, and it's obviously archer guy. Also, sorry for the big info dump after this!

_**What's a Gateport?:**_ the catchall name of the device that allows players to change servers and teleport to towns they've been to before. It also acts a as a place for players to create and enter dungeons.

_**What are dungeons?:**_ they're keyword generated areas. The keywords will always go to the same predetermined place, so if two players happen to type in the same permutation of words, they'll be at the same dungeon. Dungeon areas really vary, and base properties attached to keywords decide the size, complexity, and difficulty of the area. There are many different environments, including flower fields, snow fields, jungles, forests, beaches, and even entire water or space levels. There are also more traditional dungeons, like caves, castles, industrial zones and temples. Some of them have puzzles, bosses, or hordes of difficult area-specialty monsters. They end with treasure chests, and there can be multiple treasure chests in the dungeon if you're willing to search around long enough. The concept of the areas and the use of the keywords is almost entirely lifted from the .hack series, though I don't think I'll manage to make my dungeons sound nearly as cool. The area names usually indicate what sort of event is about to occur there.

_**What is an intuitive fighting system?:**_ a feature that made Zero Event one of the best known games. It's a system that allows a player to move away from the limited use of a controller and allow their mind to integrate fully with the game. It's not recommended for beginner players since they're still adjusting to the VR environment and have no clue how to work skills. Kagami is a special case wherein he's played with a system like this before, and despite not knowing any of his spear moves, his instincts allow him to charge in fearlessly and call upon them. The system will feed him information on the moves unconsciously, and he'll follow through with an attack that's perfectly calibrated for the situation and which launches without hesitation. It's a smart setup that really defines good players from great players.

_**What is a PKer?:**_ a PKer is a player killer, someone who kills other players for sport. It's generally not allowed in towns, but in certain areas of the overworld, and in all dungeon areas, PKers can get away with anything. When they kill a player, they're allowed to steal all the items and equipment that player found in the dungeon, as well as one singular item the player owned before the dungeon. They net large amounts of experience. Some PKers enjoy taking screenshots of the players they kill and posting them on the game boards, much like one would hang a carcass to proudly display their skill. Many players against PKing claim this to be a completely sick and perverted act.

Thanks for sticking through all that! 4500 words was not how long I wanted this chapter to be…Thanks to Xardogn for supporting the story! I hope this story eventually develops into something you guys are eager to read each chapter. I also want to get better with writing action scenes and building dramatic tension, since I'm not so good with it. If you enjoyed reading, please consider leaving a review!


	3. Reward

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**Event Horizon**

_Chapter 2: Reward_

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The new player's voice was a distinct monotone. Kagami couldn't actually tell if he'd been there the entire time or not. There hadn't been a single sign of him up until now, and it was somewhat of a blow that Kagami hadn't been able to make him out. He tried to catch a quick whiff of the air, though that same, cloying smell of lilacs and burning filled his nose. The swordsman, left to kneel on the ground, gaped at the newcomer's words.

Face an impassive mask, the player continued, "I held Haruka_Cho-san in place with a shadow bind until KAGAMI-san moved her, then cast it on you. You won't be able to move for now. Apologies for the underhandedness, 7blade-san."

Except he didn't seem sorry for the admission at all. The enraged scream that spilled from the unmoving swordsman's mouth was like a feral animal, dark eyes bulging in his fury; he quickly resumed his death threats, and over the squalling Kagami could hardly hear the other's quiet words. "Also…KAGAMI-san, Omurice-san, please attack now. The bind will last for seventeen more seconds."

The archer player choked on a yelp, frantically readying his bow again. Kagami rolled to the side and hefted his own spear into his hand, smirking. The battle truly wasn't over until the last enemy was down.

The archer loosed a quick arrow, aimed directly at the swordsman's head, scoring a critical hit that bit through the man's HP to almost half full. Kagami followed with a three-slash combo from his spear, though as he finished the bound player shouted, "Aura of Preservation! Aura of Bloodlust!"

A flash of blue surrounded the swordsman, which was then swallowed in the overflow of an oozing red aura that engulfed the man. Kagami could feel his hands begin to shake as the itchy sensation of being overcome with fear tried to unsteady his grip, probably an effect of one of the moves. He tightened them on the shaft of his spear and swung again, aiming at 7blade's throat. While the strikes should have been critical hits, they only took off tiny chunks of HP from the man's gauge. An arrow nailed the man's chest, but it hardly did any more damage than Kagami's spear strikes.

"Oh?" the man smirked, lifting his eyes and twisting his face. He looked slightly deranged. "It seems that skills still work. Pity."

Kagami growled, charging his spear for a power strike and slamming it into the sword-user's temple. This was only a little more effective than his critical hits. He switched back to slashing the guy's throat, grunting in irritation as the guy laughed. Three arrows hit the player's head in succession, still only doing slivers of damage.

From what Kagami could figure out, he'd used a defense-boosting skill to try and nullify their normal attacks. He couldn't be sure, but Aura of Bloodlust might have reduced the strength of critical attacks. It was an annoying setup that stalled their damage output enough to make the seventeen seconds given to them by the mysterious player almost worthless.

He performed another slash to 7blade's throat, reducing his HP to about a quarter before the swordsman suddenly lunged out of his spear's range, dodging Omurice's next arrow at the same time.

"Too bad, newbies. I really gotta thank you, Ghostie-tan. The look of relief on their faces as they actually believed they might win, that dying spark of hope! It was so great to see their dumbass faces! I'll save these pictures and look at them fondly!" the swordsman laughed, clutching his stomach.

"You talk too much; shut the hell up!" Kagami grunted, pointing his spear at the sword-user. This seemed to crack the man up further, squeezing tears from his eyes. "It's not over yet!"

"Correct," the monotone voice of the player standing at the alter sounded. At his utterance a flurry of dazzling blue and green lights engulfed Kagami's avatar. Their very presence was a cooling balm, passing over him like the shade of a tree on a hot summer's day. He could see that the archer was receiving a similar treatment. His health points had been restored to half, whereas before he'd been in the low double digits, dangerously close to the edge.

The swordsman stopped laughing, lips thinning and crazed eyes sharp, focusing in on the new player. "Ah, now you've done too much, Ghostie-tan."

7blade hefted his sword, allowing it to glow red once more. Realizing that it was probably another energy blade, Kagami leapt to the left, away from the player's direct line of sight before charging in from the side, planting the spear into the sword user's thigh. Omurice seemed to have the same idea, firing arrows in quick procession, though with the auras still in place it didn't even make their target stumble.

"Cuuute~," 7blade crooned. "Ya know, I wanted to gut Spear-tan here first. I wanted to see him squeal in anguish and save it. But now…that expressionless doll face of yours—" he launched forward, sword in hand, a fiery red afterglow trailing behind him. "I want you to cry for me, too!"

Omurice shouted, trying to aim another shot at the dashing player killer's back, only managing to nick his arm. "Shit!" Kagami hissed, sprinting after the swordsman.

The boy at the alter didn't seem surprised by the attack, instead attempting to leap away as 7blade came within striking distance, a staff which he'd probably summoned earlier in hand. His avatar was slow despite the elegant appearance of his step, and he barely moved aside as the red-tinged sword came crashing down at the base of the alter. Its area of effect still seemed to hit him though, forcing his body into a stumble that had the swordsman easily catching up. He was tackled to the ground, 7blade straddling his waist with gloved hands gripping the boy's throat.

"Aaah…how sweet~! You're only level one, like a little baby doll," the sword-user uttered, leaning in, eyes flitting from side to side as though reading something, probably the boy's profile. "Kuroko-chan sounds cute, yeah? I'll make sure to name all my files that."

The player, Kuroko, didn't seem to visibly react beyond a faint downturn of his lips. The staff, still gripped tightly in his hands, released an orb of light from its jeweled tip that darted at his assaulter like a bolt, knocking him aside.

The boy scrambled away, firing white orbs at the swordsman as he went. Kagami could see the PKer's health bar steadily decreasing as the orbs struck, doing better damage than his or Omurice's own physical attacks. Aura of Preservation seemed to increase physical defense only; the magical attacks of even a level one player could still make a dent. Omurice seemed to understand, beginning to fire arrows and adding his own slivers of damage. Kuroko's attacks had enough of a stun on them to halt 7blade's movement, though he seemed to stop of his own volition to charge another strike.

Kagami grinned, powering his spear for his own attack as Kuroko ran to his side, panting. "Keep firing until his aura runs out."

"Ah," Kuroko intoned, releasing one more shot before pulling his staff to his side again. "Sorry. I'm out of MP."

"Seriously?!" Kagami shouted, whipping around to glare at the mage. The boy looked back at him, face blank.

He grunted in annoyance, glancing forward as he heard 7blade's now grating cackle, watching the man charge, sword at his side. But…

"Cheh! I hate weaklings!" he growled, flinging himself to the side and forward. 7blade only had eyes for Kuroko, repeating the same, mindless charge as before. The mage stood motionless, seemingly giving up and allowing the sword-user to put him down. It was the best distraction he could hope for, and as the swordsman drew parallel with him, Kagami thrust his glowing spear straight through his opponent's temple. The crimson aura of Bloodlust and Preservation had vanished just a second ago, leaving 7blade defenseless. "Finish what you start!"

The body grayed out and fell lifeless to the ground, head decimated and oozing blood from the final strike. He could still make out the man's Cheshire grin through the carnage though, present even in death. Sick bastard, Kagami thought, withdrawing his spear.

"W-we did it?" Omurice asked, face disbelieving as he wandered towards them.

The dinging of several pop ups seemed to confirm this fact, cheerily notifying Kagami that he'd murdered four of his own party members and had gained six levels in return, as well as access to their inventories to pick out which items he wanted to take.

It looked like downing 7blade had actually given three levels. He shrugged and quickly nabbed the guy's light armor chest piece, and then Haruka_Cho's leg armor, both of which read as (Beginner's Interlude: Cheap Copper Light Armor [1/6; Lv. 5-10]). The other sword-user's inventory had a good stock of magic potions, but as he went to take them, he glanced at the player who had actually run out of magic. Biting back a sigh, he took the guy's accessory instead, a bracelet labeled (A Goddess' Gift: Band of Preservation) which, no surprise, allowed him to use Aura of Preservation. The axeman from the start of the battle had a stock of fifteen health potions and some crappy-looking heavy armor; he took the health potions without remorse.

Omurice was frantically flicking his eyes through the multiple menus that had assaulted him, though from Kagami's point of view he just seemed to be jabbing at thin air when he finally picked an item he wanted. The mage player hadn't moved, silently observing his own menus before making his decisions and dismissing them.

Seeing him finish, Omurice became even more frantic, waving his arm vaguely in the mage's direction and shouting, "Wait! Wait please!"

Acquiescing, Kuroko silently stepped toward the archer. Observing the other bite his lip before finalizing his item transfers, Kuroko waited, face impassive and unreadable. Another popup announced in the too-loud computer woman's voice that fifty percent of funds had been collected from all downed characters and transferred to a collective pot, and then evenly distributed among the three of them.

"Ah, you're a healer type, right?" Omurice finally asked, dismissing the message.

"Yes," Kuroko replied, nodding.

Omurice fidgeted, glancing at the gray corpses of the heavy swordsman and the other mage before gulping. "Could you please revive them? You can do that, right?"

Kuroko nodded, admitting, "I'm not at a level high enough to know the skill, but I do have several Life scrolls."

He withdrew them from his menu, two large scrolls with heavily rusted rollers bursting into existence with a shower of flashy white sparks. They hovered over the white mage's hand before moving towards the two downed party members. The scrolls burst into white flame, arcing high into tall towers of flickering energy that called forth heavenly pillars of light. The bodies disappeared from the ground and then reappeared as dark silhouettes, gently floating in the light before being placed gently on their feet.

"I don't like using them because they're really flashy," Kuroko said, lifting his staff and dismissing it. The staff appeared to turn dark and fade into small, dusty particles. Kagami narrowed his eyes at the motion. He'd seen his fellow party members dismiss their weapons, the animation for the disappearing and reappearing weapons a flash of sparks that was both eye-catching and annoying. The strange animation was odd, but perhaps it depended on the weapon being dismissed, he thought.

He watched the proceedings silently, eyes trained on the healing mage. It was almost ghost-like, the way he had appeared and used a 'shadow bind' or whatever he had called it on the PKers. His weapon dismissal was also unique. He tried to sniff the air again, only coming up with the heavy scent of lilac once more. As if sensing his stare, Kuroko turned, nodding at him silently, though whether it was to acknowledge that he knew Kagami was watching or to thank him for his earlier save was unclear.

His thoughts were interrupted as Omurice ran to the other two players with a relieved shout.

"I thought we were goners!" the newbie mage said, clapping Omurice's shoulder once he drew near. "That was seriously intense!"

"Yeah! I thought for sure you and KAGAMI were gonna kick the bucket," the heavy swordsman said. "I'm glad you guys didn't give up, though."

"No way in hell we'd give in so easily," Kagami finally interrupted, walking up to the trio. "Strong opponents and intense matches like that are the best. There's no point to something if it's not a challenge!"

The three seemed to agree, though a little bashfully. They started to chatter again before Kuroko's voice broke through the pleasant atmosphere, drawing their attention back towards the alter.

"We should decide who gets the treasure before it gets any later," Kuroko said, gesturing to the hovering rings at the edge of the cliff. "Since I didn't do too much in this dungeon, I'll leave it for you guys."

Now that Kagami noticed, the sun had completely set, shifting the landscape into a dim twilight, though the game adjusted the light levels so that the landscape was still highly visible for fighting.

"I don't care too much, either," Kagami admitted, shouldering his spear. He approached the alter, settling beside the white mage who stood before it. "I got some pretty good stuff off those guys."

"Then…I'll let one of you guys have it," Omurice said, looking at his companions. They nodded in agreement.

The mage stepped forward, summoning his staff and pointing it toward the alter. The heavy rings began to rotate, first spinning in place before swinging outward. Their movement caused a rough, wooden chest to appear at the base of the rings, flinging its lid open with a burst of wind. The item appeared as a small white orb that drifted toward the mage and absorbed itself into his staff. Treasure bestowed, the chest crumpled in on itself, wood melting into formless metal that floated off the ground and coalesced as a silvery sphere. It looked like a smaller version of the Gateport, surface rippling and reflecting the growing starlight of the field.

"The alters in this game are meant to be places of sacrifice and reward. By moving through the dungeon and vanquishing foes with courage, the great spirits bestow gifts on the warriors who perform such feats," Kuroko intoned, idly observing the three players

An easy way to write off treasure chests in big open fields, Kagami thought at Kuroko's explanation. He'd heard worse excuses.

"That's the way out of the dungeon, right?" Omurice piped up from where he, the mage, and the heavy swordsman had been discussing the item the mage received, apparently a full set of light clothing for the magic-user to wear.

Kuroko nodded. Kagami yawned, cracking his neck before pointing his spear at the Gateport. "As fun as this has been, I'm gonna head back to town and do the intro quests before logging off. See ya."

A chorus of goodbyes followed him as the world shifted, though all Kagami could focus on was the blank, unnerving gaze of the white mage as he stood apart from the other players. The eyes were so incredibly blue, even in the darkness. He wondered how he'd missed sensing the other player throughout the dungeon and the fight. If there was one thing that creepy bastard had been right about, it was that the blue-haired healer seemed like a ghost.

As the main Gateport hub filtered back into view, still as jam-packed with new players as before, Kagami tried to push thoughts of the boy away. It had been a more interesting start to Zero Event than he thought he'd get, but in the end, it was still a large game. He doubted he'd even see the players currently registered to his party again, let alone a mysterious third party that had inserted itself at the very end of the battle.

Still, his mind lingered on the mage. There was something compelling about him, despite his weak appearance. He supposed that even though he'd run out of power at the end and left Kagami to deal with 7blade, Kuroko had earned his respect, if just a little.

Too bad they'd never see each other again.

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Yeah lol. They never see each other, that's it, end of story. This was actually just 3 chapters of random shit thrown together so that they could wander off and never lay eyes on each other again.

Sorry for the quality of this. I forced it out so that I could get at least something done. I was held up by a statistics test last week and I haven't felt like writing, but I needed to wrap this up, even if it's done poorly. This chapter is a bit shorter than the last, and the reason why is that I generally aim to have my chapters be around 2000 words. A goodish length without making me go insane. Anymore after that is a bonus.

Also bonus to anyone who can figure out who Omurice, mage, and heavy swordsman are. ;D Wouldn't have spent so much time on them if they didn't show up again. If you guys have any suggestions for usernames I'd appreciate it. As you can tell, I'm terrible with usernames. Since this chapter didn't introduce too many things, have this list of peeps whose names have sorta been said. Expect more explanations in the next chapter, though!

**Zero Event Usernames:**

Valient Knite - ?

KAGAMI – Kagami Taiga

Omurice-12 – scaredy-cat archer that turned out to have a backbone

Haruka_Cho – notorious PKer, reels newbies in

7blade – notorious PKer, has a personal collection of player pictures he's taken while killing them

GrindelWald – notorious PKer, axeman player, bit of an asshole

Blue Tip Samurai – notorious PKer, other sword-user, completely unremarkable


	4. Friend

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**Event Horizon**

_Chapter 3: Friend_

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Little did Kagami know, the fact he even assumed that he'd never meet someone as weird and suspicious as Kuroko again, after _just_ being forced to murder four of his own party members during his first time in the game, should have been evidence enough that he wasn't very genre savvy and would, inevitably, be completely and horribly wrong.

That little fucker was everywhere.

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The first thing Kagami did when he returned to the Gateport hub was equip all the nice stuff he'd liberated from his teammates' dead bodies. Then, thinking about it more logically, he didn't need the PKers to know exactly where he was on the map. Why they still bothered to remain in the party he wasn't sure, but booting himself felt pretty satisfying. If the other three new players knew what was good for them, they'd remove themselves as well.

He glanced around, finally taking the time to observe his surroundings. Haruka_Cho had managed to successfully distract him before, but now that no one was coming up to him it was easier to get his bearings. The Gateport hub was comprised of stone, with a large, domed ceiling painted navy and depicting the position of the world's celestial bodies and constellations. Twinkling stars scattered across the arches and at the center of the dome, a large skylight, edged by wavy bands of gold to indicate its symbolism as the sun, gave a glimpse of the evening sky. It was just as picturesque and starry as the mockups on the arches.

There weren't any obvious indications on what he was supposed to do next, but after quickly pulling up his map, he could see that a large red question mark hovered outside the grand double doors of the hall. With a grunt he cracked his neck again and stepped around a pair of magic users that had huddled off to the side like him, heading towards his first monotonous intro quest.

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The thing with most virtual reality MMOs is that they were meant to be wide and expansive, an entire world for people to explore away from the dreary reality that was their life. Sight, smell, taste, sound, and touch were integrated into the games to simulate real life experiences, though some were more toned down than others. Spending time in an MMO eating at a restaurant was almost like eating at a real one, with the flavor and texture of food intact and the atmosphere almost identical to its IRL counterpart. The feeling of a cool breeze could still be registered, carrying the scents of flowers and grass. Non-player characters were also much more human, though it was still incredibly obvious that they were merely computer programs when compared with a player standing next to them.

In the end though, no matter how much more realistic they got, they were still a pain in the ass to deal with. And no amount of impressive detail in the virtual environment could deter Kagami from staring balefully at the loud NPC waddling ahead of him. It looked to be some sort of duck creature, with a large, flat bill and, if he wasn't mistaken, a beaver tail dipping out of its intricately-crafted bathrobes. Those…were bathrobes, right?

No one could really claim that Kagami had an eye for clothing design. To him, if it could be described as 'has sleeves,' 'doesn't have sleeves,' or 'vaguely pants-like' then it was clothing, and should be left at that. Considering most of his wardrobe was tee shirts and shorts, there wasn't much of a need to be descriptive. Now though, he felt maybe his vocabulary was a little lacking in the face of all the varied styles the players around him were wearing.

Most of them had the typical basic garb, this being a starter city; but some had already upgraded their armor, donning strange, eclectic accents over gilded plate metal or colorful vestments. Did they have a purpose? He didn't know, but the thought that at some point in the future (probably sooner rather than later) he'd also be wearing those things made him feel…concerned. Especially as he passed by a large, burly man with a spear strapped to his back, flexing his biceps as what appeared to be a chainmail loincloth jingled merrily around his waist. The metallic silver thigh-high boots studded with small belts and buckles clinked merrily along as the loincloth brushed past them.

Oblivious to his inner turmoil, the beaver-duck NPC ceased waddling and proudly swung its feathered arms out, proclaiming in a nigh deafening voice, "HERE WE ARE, YOUNG ADVENTURER. SQWUACK! THIS IS THE GENERAL STORE. BUY THINGS, AND STUFF. ALWAYS BE PREPARED. SQWUACK! DEATH IS INEVITABLE BUT YOU CAN MAKE IT LESS SO IF YOU BUY A FEW HEALTH POTIONS."

Kagami braced himself for another of the NPC's verbal tics, waiting a few seconds only to be met with silence. He relaxed and observed as the NPC began waddling by him without another word, no doubt returning to the Gateport hub, only to pause directly at his side and release one last, booming 'SQWUACK!' in his ear before sidling off into the crowd.

"Is it legal to kill those things?" he muttered, rubbing his ear. His only reply was a new popup in his face, the loud, computerized voice that liked to pretend he couldn't read stating verbatim what the small message had already told him.

'**KEY QUEST: Find the General Store! is complete! Gained 500 exp, 5 silver, Health Potion x3!'**

'**NEW KEY QUEST: Buy 1 Health Potion from the General Store!'**

"Thanks," he said flatly, waving the popups away from his vision.

"**You're welcome!"** the voice said back, possibly even louder than before. Kagami flipped a bird at the sky, hoping that his nonverbal message could be understood, even if he didn't know where the disembodied voice came from. The silence that followed the gesture could just mean the voice had finished doing its part, but Kagami wanted to believe it was a silence of disapproval and disgruntlement.

Following the quest directions, he entered the store, a building cut from slate grey stone with thematic arches dotting the outside. Many of the buildings in the city were similar, littered with open, dramatic windows and bright cloths that flapped about like flags in the strong breeze that suffused every street and alley. He'd have to get closer to the city limits, but if Kagami wasn't mistaken, the entire area was also floating in the sky, or perhaps perched somewhere incredibly high like a mountain. His map made the layout of the city appear as a sort of tiered cone, winding down in levels until the bottom street, which funneled out onto a long bridge.

Everything here had holes and pathways meant for the wind to pass through. Decorations like pinwheels and windsocks were prominent. As he entered through the door a bell sounded, almost drowned out by the tones of a nearby wind chime.

The inside of the shop reflected the outside, with thin, wooden floorboards and stone walls. Shelves lined the bottom halves of the wall, coming up to just eye level and following the curve of the room. Leafy green plants brightened the air, swinging from the rafters in the wind that passed through a wide, panoramic window. Kagami took this all in with a cursory glance before making a beeline towards the clerk behind the counter, promptly knocking into something—or someone—and bowling right over them.

"The hell was that—?" Kagami hissed, rubbing his head. It felt like there twenty splinters embedded in his cheek. He looked around, trying to catch what he tripped over, but there seemed to be nothing there.

"Ow," a dull voice sounded from beneath him. A familiar voice.

Kagami looked beneath himself, only to find he had his elbow crushing the face of the healer from the field dungeon. A stoic blue eye peered up at him where his forearm ran across the bridge of the other's nose. "…ow."

Kagami almost spit in that same eye as a hand jabbed into his vulnerable ribs.

"What was that for?!" he yelled, rolling off of the shorter mage.

"KAGAMI-san shouldn't crush people, or sit on them for that matter," the healer said, hefting himself up and rubbing his nose slightly.

"You—!" Kagami stopped himself from saying anymore. He guessed, when he thought about it, he _had_ run right into him. And not noticed that he'd laid on top of him for longer than strictly necessary. He resisted the urge to jab the boy in the ribs to retaliate for earlier, and instead muttered, "…sorry."

The boy nodded and held his hand out, offering to help lift the spearman off the floor. Still a little miffed, Kagami ignored the hand and stood on his own, feeling his cheek for the phantom pain of splinters. He looked back to where the healer had been standing with his hand proffered, only to come across empty space.

He'd only been distracted for a second and yet the other had vanished. He hadn't even heard the door open and close. Kagami rubbed his cheek one more time before meandering over to the counter to complete the quest, eyes vainly trying to catch sight of the blue-haired mage in case he was still in the store. "Weird kid…"

The clerk turned around from where it had been idly organizing a shelf of items that didn't actually look like they needed to be organized at all, revealing the large, flat bill of another beaver-duck NPC, this time outfitted in pinstriped overalls. "WELCOME. SQWUACK! THIS IS THE GENERAL STORE, YOUNG ADVENTURER. WOULD YOU LIKE TO BROWSE OUR WARES? SQWUAAACK! DEATH IS INEVITABLE BUT YOU CAN MAKE IT LESS SO IF YOU BUY A FEW HEALTH POTIONS."

Kagami clamped his hands over his ears, waiting for the loud exclamation he knew was coming. It wouldn't catch him off-guard this time. Not this time!

He waited for a minute, which slowly became two, and then three. Glaring at the NPC as it stood in an idle animation to hear him confirm whether or not he wanted to shop, he slowly lowered his hands, saying, "Y…yeah—"

"**SQWUAAACK!**"

"SON OF A BITCH—"

.

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.

So it turned out a player could, theoretically, kill the NPCs. Given, he wasn't able to use his spear and had instead had the great luck of having a large potted plant fall on top of the NPC from a tall shelf, but still.

Even if the NPC clerk's stock had mysteriously doubled in price after the accident, Kagami couldn't help but feel it was money well spent.

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Kagami primed his spear for another power strike, cutting through the gigantic angry bull like butter. Its body twitched in mid-charge before collapsing and disintegrating into grey particles that floated away like motes of dust in the wind. It reminded him of the way the little blue-haired mage's staff was dismissed, though the thought quickly left him when another bull charged.

He was a bit over-leveled for this quest, since the bulls were only level 5 and he'd managed to climb up to level 13 after performing many of the beginner quests in the city. He was steadily working through the battle tutorial quests now, this one in particular ordering him to 'clean up all the mutated livestock from the pen.' Technically, the quest log said he'd completed the task after only taking down ten of them, but seeing as they occasionally dropped mana potions and sellable materials, he let himself batter the continuously regenerating herd of monster cows.

He may have also just liked the dismayed 'moo'-ing noise they made when he killed them.

Just as his power strike finished charging, a bolt of white energy swept past him, hitting a bull behind Kagami's own aggressor and riling it into a frenzy. The bull's lowing caught the attention of its penmates as seemingly every mutant cow in the area turned to stare unnervingly at Kagami and the player standing a few paces away from him.

"Oops," the player said, monotone voice sounding neither surprised nor regretful. "Sorry."

"What the fuck was that," Kagami asked, whipping around to stare at the healer, only to find him gone, no sign that he was even there to begin with. "Come back you little twerp!"

In his distraction, Kagami never saw the charging bull coming, and went sailing over the pen's wooden fence with a scream.

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Sure he didn't need to go back and slaughter every last bull in the pen before any of them could regenerate. But he gained a level and learned a little about himself along the way.

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Learning to jump between the pillars of stone interspersed throughout the canyon wasn't too hard. The digital avatar's body could easily make the leap, and the exhilaration of rocketing through the air was honestly incredible.

The landscape of the Ventus server was placed in the sky, with the tips of mountains and spiny, rocky pillars acting as paths and environments to venture through. The view of the clear, starry sky was breathtaking, and far, far below a dark ocean roiled about, carrying the scent of salt and storms.

He didn't spend long admiring the view though, and leapt off the top of the stone pillar he'd been occupying before alighting on the next. The last game he'd played hadn't been as immersive as this, and Kagami found himself actually thinking that Alex's offhanded remark about Zero Event being an interesting game wasn't so bad when—

"Ah, hello again, KAGAMI-san."

This time he really did spit as he noticed the smaller player standing on the rock next to him. He was, in fact, so surprised that he stumbled backwards, directly over the edge of the stone pillar and into open air.

The last thing he heard was a bland 'oops' as he saw the healer peer over the side of the pillar, figure framed by the glow of a heavy full moon and growing distant as Kagami fell to his inevitable death.

A fucking potion ain't gonna fix this, he thought sourly.

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After reviving in Aeolus and traveling all the way back to the stone pillar canyon, Kagami had about had it with the little blue-eyed ghost menace, and hoped that the next time they met, he got a chance to toss his little ass over a cliff and into the ocean. It was a very long way down, and he should have ample time to think about just how annoying he was.

Kagami was on a constant look-out for the healer during the next few quests, which consisted mainly of learning how to climb, harvesting flowers, and taking out a group of mutant sheep milling around the main road. (Why did this game have so many mutant farm animals? Was there a radioactive waste dump in the sky? Were these animals liable to transform into their own versions of Spider-Man?)

But there wasn't a single sign of the player, and so Kagami let his proverbial raised hackles lower. It was getting late, and he wanted to finish up the easy beginner quests before bed. No time to waste thinking about ghost players and their creepy dead blue eyes.

The next quest he received was from a little girl standing at the bottom of a cliff littered in vines.

"Please get me the Sun Lily at the top of this cliff! I'll give you all my savings. Please do it, please! If I have it, I can make a wish and save my mama!"

"Uh…sure," he said, receiving the quest popup almost immediately after.

'**NEW KEY QUEST: Obtain the Sun Lily without Being Detected by the Watchers!'**

"Thanks," Kagami said spitefully, wincing as the computer once again said **'You're welcome!'** almost directly into his ear.

Detection was one of those things touched upon very briefly in the climbing tutorial, with a vaguely threatening line like 'Watch out! Sometimes high places have great reward, but also carry great danger!' He pulled up the quest details, reading the brief summary on sneaking, which was basically a caution about making too much noise around monsters, since some of the higher level ones would attack based on sound cues. It was a nice touch of realism, but also slightly annoying.

He stepped up to the vine-laden cliffside and began climbing, latching onto the thick, sturdy vines with ease. Thankfully for things like this and jumping, no real stamina was used, since the cliff was incredibly tall. Kagami could climb for hours and not feel any sort of fatigue.

He scaled the vines for a while, ascending higher and higher until he could see nothing but the starry sky. Finally, he reached a plateau, pulling himself over the side with a grunt. Looking around, he observed a patch of tall trees, towering pines that creaked and moaned in the wind, casting large shadows along a trail. As he looked closer he could see the trail was made of the same stone as the cliff. There was no sign of grass or dirt, and upon further inspection, it looked as though the trees were simply sprouting from the rock, perhaps even made of the same material.

The silence of the area was slightly unnerving. Until now, most areas had some sort of faint background music, forgettable enough to easily ignore in his haste to finish the quests. Now, the quiet, punctuated only by the moaning of the swaying stone trees, was incredibly loud in his ears.

Kagami summoned his spear, just in case these 'Watchers' decided to jump him, and began to creep forward, careful to step lightly along the shadowy trail. There didn't seem to be any roaming monsters present, which only made him tenser, knuckles growing white as he gripped the spear shaft. A place like this was ripe for jump scares.

The trail ended at a clearing on what appeared to be the other side of the plateau, a single flower residing at its center. The petals were suffused with a soft orange glow, glittery gold dust wafting around the lily like moths entranced by a flame.

It certainly looks like a sun lily, whatever that is, Kagami thought, inching forward until he stood right beside it. Kneeling down, he reached for the bloom, ready to just yank it from where the stem inexplicably grew from the rock. Just as he readied to clamp his fingers down, the flower moved on its own, pulling free from the ground and up into the air.

Kagami stared in disbelief for a moment, mouth hanging open, before realizing that the perpetrator had been a small, pale hand, connected to a very familiar healer.

"Are you _kidding_ me?!" he screeched, making to grab the mage by the collar of his cloak. The blue-haired healer immediately motioned for quiet, pressing his pointer finger to his lips and glancing at the end of the clearing, where the sheer drop of the plateau began.

Kagami choked down a furious 'Don't you SHUSH me!' when he heard the unmistakable sound of something skittering up the side of the cliff, a distinctive clicking amplified in the silence. Kuroko quickly pointed at the shadow-laden trail before clutching the flower to his chest and beginning to run for cover. Kagami glanced quickly between the mage's retreating figure and the cliff edge, pondering whether he should attempt to hide and wait for another flower to spawn, or if he really should just book it.

His question was answered as what looked like several wolves pulled themselves over the edge of the cliffs, reticent except for that damnable clicking. Their forms were an inky black, absorbing all light and consuming it like a pit. Ragged ruffs morphed into spindly legs, ending in skeletal, humanoid hands that tapped to and fro as though they were worms. The wolf creature's head seemed to be a skull, eyeless sockets void of anything but a singular point of white, which trained beadily on Kagami with staggering fierceness.

The pack of four remained still, watching him intensely. Kagami, for once, decided it might be prudent to look up enemy info, only to balk at the glaring Level 80 displayed above their heads alongside four question marks regarding their health. As if scenting the increase in his heart rate, one of the wolves—a Watcher, he reminded himself—staggered forward, skeletal fingers rasping against stone.

It was all the warning he needed. He broke out into a sprint, heading down the trail he had traveled from previously, listening for pursuit as the gloom of the stone trees enshrouded him once more. And while the walk through hadn't seemed so long before, now it felt like eternity passing with each step. He didn't spare looking back at the Watchers to see how close they were, previous experience in other games honing his mind to focus on the goal of survival. If he couldn't hear them, they were probably far enough back that he didn't have to worry until he needed to slow down to start climbing down the vines on the side of the cliff.

Kagami was so focused he nearly missed Kuroko's nearing figure also running as quickly as he could along the stone path; if it hadn't been for the sparkly flower still clasped tightly to the teen's chest he'd probably never have found him. Even though he appeared to be running as fast as he could possibly muster, these efforts seemed futile with the actual speed of his progress. Even if he had some weird power to be invisible the kid's luck for avoiding danger was probably at its limit now. Kagami would soon overtake him, and the Watchers wouldn't be far behind. He felt sorta bad, seeing as it was actually him this time that had caused this fiasco while the other had merely been completing the quest.

It was, in all honesty, a last second decision to call out to the mage and yell at him to stop and turn around. "Hey dumbass, stop and turn around!" wasn't the most friendly way of putting it either, but the fact Kuroko actually stopped and turned to face him fully spoke volumes, little sparkly flower clutched in his fingers and all. Kagami promptly charged into his gut, scooping the healer into a fireman's carry and running forward on sheer momentum. Kuroko's pained grunt felt like enough repentance for being such an indirect asshole at the moment, and he could always make him pay extra later, but now it was time to get the hell out of Dodge.

"This seems highly unnecessary, KAGAMI-san," Kuroko intoned.

"Shut the hell up and tell me if those Watcher guys are close," Kagami retaliated. He was beginning to notice a drop in his own speed. Whereas before he was sure he could make it through to the other side of the path without difficulty, now he was unsure. While Kuroko felt relatively light, carrying him was affecting his own speed. The game had weird mechanics that activated in certain parts, and he guessed now was one of those times. His strength and speed to counteract carrying Kuroko's body.

"They're about eight meters behind. KAGAMI-san, please put me down. You're becoming slower." So Kuroko had also noticed?

A tiny voice in his mind, the voice that sparked him into competing in games, winning and surviving, claiming victory over a challenging opponent, told him that he could definitely win if he _did_ throw Kuroko down now and never look back. In fact, leaving him behind would probably distract the Watchers long enough for him to make it to the vines without incident.

Except.

Except he could never do that to someone, even someone as annoying as Kuroko. Kuroko had obviously gone out of his way before, to help them with the PKers despite his level being so pathetically low that he couldn't do much beyond provide distractions. Even if it wasn't to his benefit, he'd still helped players he hadn't known or met before. Whether it was out of some sort of vigilante justice against newbie player killers or because he was a genuinely nice person, Kagami couldn't help but respect him, just a little.

Kagami, for all of his hotheadedness and straightforward dislike of the weak, couldn't leave a comrade behind. Not when they could persevere together.

Distracted in his own thoughts as he was, he really didn't see the cliff edge coming until he was running right over it.

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So Kuroko had managed to place the Sun Lily in his inventory before they hit the ground. Which was great because the thought of having that stupid sparkly flower lying around their dead, greyed-out, impact-shattered bodies was equally annoying and humiliating.

It was a good thing the little girl NPC was a computer program and not an actual little girl, or he might have felt bad about crash-landing in front of her and scarring her for life.

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The world swam into focus, the grey, blurry landscape slowly gaining focus and color. He blinked, and the sight of the round stone buildings of Aelous sharpened, colorful flags fluttering about in the wind. The revive point was placed on the ground level of the city, and Kagami had a clear view to where the city's edge dropped off into open air. He stepped off the raised platform with a groan, thoughts flitting back to the long walk he'd have to take to get to the site of the flower quest again. He needed to go to bed in fifteen minutes, and he'd never make it.

"That was very uncool of you, KAGAMI-san," Kuroko spoke up beside him. Kagami jolted forward, not having noticed the other's presence until the mage had stepped up beside him. His face looked just as emotionless as before, with an equally flat voice, but Kagami thought he could feel an air of annoyance emanating from the teen. "Don't be surprised that I'm here when you're the one who ran us both off a cliff."

"Don't act like this is all my fault!" Kagami whipped around, pointing angrily. At the other's unperturbed expression, he only grew more irritated. "I decided to save your ass even though you've been a thorn in my side all evening! And what is up with your disappearing act?!"

"I have a naturally weak presence—" How did that make any sense, Kagami wanted to shout. "And also…thank you, KAGAMI-san. For saving me."

The blunt sincerity of the statement had him stuttering and blushing. "H-how can you say something so embarrassing directly like that?!"

Kuroko seemed to ignore him, instead focusing on pulling up several screens. To Kagami he only looked like he was staring avidly at thin air, but the aimless tapping was easily recognizable. "I might have been able to get away if you hadn't drawn them toward me, but…well, some things can't be helped. I think…a lot of players would have left me behind to save themselves. But you helped me instead. So, thank you again."

Kagami could feel his face steaming and hoped the red wasn't too visible in the dimness of the revive point's street. He composed himself (why was he able to be as blunt as possible, but not handle being on the receiving end?), muttering, "W-well, we're even now. Don't expect me to go out of my way all the time because of this, though!"

"Of course not," Kuroko replied. His voice was dull, as always, but Kagami couldn't help but feel he was being laughed at.

Just as he was about to deny the other vehemently—because who in their right mind would want to save a little asshole like him—a notification dinged in his face. The incredibly loud computer voice helpfully deafened him while reading the popup. **'Kuroko-Tetsu_05 would like to friend you. Do you accept?'**

His immediate thought was no, just to be a dick. His second was a bit kinder. Staring at him impassively as he was, Kuroko-Tetsu_05 (and boy, did he actually not know his full username until now?) managed to be just as robotic as before, and yet had an air to him that screamed 'eager little boy just waiting to be rejected but hoping for the best.' It was honestly pathetic.

"Don't look at me with those eyes," he grumbled, clicking the accept button and wincing at the computer's cheery announcement of **'You are now friends with Kuroko-Tetsu_05!'**

"I'm only looking at you, KAGAMI-kun." Pleased. Kuroko was so fucking pleased he might as well be sparkling like that dumb Sun Lily, Kagami thought.

"Stop saying such embarrassing things! Don't you think about what you say before you say it?!" he griped, just for good measure, because how could anyone be so embarrassing with such a straight face?

"Yes, but I feel that maybe KAGAMI-kun is a bit shy. I'll try to be less direct to spare your feelings."

"I'm not shy! Just—you—shut the hell up!"

"Of course, KAGAMI-kun."

Maybe, just a little, perhaps by only the tiniest bit, Kagami was pleased, too.

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Of course, if Kagami had known what was to come, he'd have rethought accepting the innocent request of an invisible boy who had caused him entirely too much grief already.

But he'd have done it all over again, and never regretted his choices. It was who Kagami was, and looking back and regretting the best and worst decision of his life had no place when all he needed to do was look forward to the future.

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Honestly don't know why Kagami WOULDN'T want a chainmail loincloth and silver belted thigh-highs. Sorry for being late again! I'm trying to consistently come out with a chapter every week, but my normal 3 chapter slump hit me. Normally by this point I give up on a story, but I pushed really hard to get through this chapter. Hope it came out ok! And you guys probably thought this story was gonna be all serious.

When playing TERA with my friends on skype call, we're a fucking mess. We resemble drunk geese stumbling about, really. I can't imagine Kagami and Kuroko learning to party with each other going any differently. I hope the interaction between Kuroko and Kagami is ok. Since this is my first time writing them, I feel a little unsure. I'm also trying to keep in mind that they're strangers playing an online game.

**The Watcher: Lv. 80 ?/?**

_**A foul creature that lurks in the most unlikely places. Though relatively slow, they stalk prey to the ends of the earth. Keen of ear and even keener of sight, once they find you, there's little to do but run.**_

Also guys, some of you may know I have a tumblr. My url is 'eramquodes' and I tend to post fic snippets and stuff. But because it's my main blog, you guys might not want to see the stuff I post. So, **follow the tag 'knb event horizon' to see fic snippets specific for this story**, as well as whatever doodles/comics I do. Hopefully I can get some definitive designs for Kuroko and Kagami's outfits out soon.

Thanks to faithful reviewer Xardogn and new reviewer Aimiera! Thank you so much, guys! It really encourages me to keep writing. :)


	5. Quest Chain

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**Event Horizon**

_Chapter 4: Quest Chain_

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_Zero Event Home - Forums - General Discussion - Rumors_

**Topic**: "Them Big Ol' Eyes"

**[Bloomseed]:** Hey guys! Bloomseed here with some interesting gossip for you, as always~ Or really, more of a question that needs some answers!

Recently, the Acerbus server has gotten some really weird buggy monsters! Some of them act normal, but they've got something weird going on. A lot of players in the World chat are saying that these monsters have weird yellow eyes popping up on them! Spooky, right?!

There's more! Some monsters have been acting outside their normal parameters, deviating from set attack patterns, appearing in places they can't normally spawn, and sometimes even using attacks they shouldn't know at all! All of them of course have the weird yellow eyes.

And and and! There have been some player reports saying their characters have somehow been modded to have the yellow eyes too! They get killed by the monsters and then log back in with the eyes there.

Is it a bug? A virus? Or maybe hackers? Akashi Corp. is keeping pretty mum about it. What do you guys think?

**[xXDarkHarbingerXx]:** lol pics or i don't believe this complete bulls**t. your always bring the most stupid crap here

**[Bloomseed]:** Ah, you truly live up to your name, don't you, Mr. Harbinger? Check the World chat for yourself. But I DO have screenshots of player testimony! At least ten counts on these screenshots.

_[image attached] [image attached] [image attached] [image attached]_

**[Ballz2theWallz]:** Dont listen to him Bloom. Ive been seeing a lot of stuff on the world chat too. I don't frequent the acerbus server much but I have a friend who does. Shes told me shes seen a skaler running back and forth with those eyes on its tail. She didnt go near it since it was acting so freaky. Heres a pic:

_[image attached]_

**[Bloomseed]:** This is great, thank you! Actual evidence is always good for a solid rumor story. Maybe we can take this to the main game section. Also, if you don't mind, Ballz2theWallz, would it be ok to PM the username of your friend? I'd like to talk to her and get an exact account of what she saw!

**[HAMSHANK]:** This is a great rumor! I haven't been playing much lately but now I'm definitely gonna log in tonight and see the chat for myself. :DDD

**[Ballz2theWallz]:** Sure thing Bloom. I pmed her to ask if its ok so Ill send it to you if she says yes.

**[xXDarkHarbingerXx]:** god you guys are SO GULLIBLE. i'm thinking ballzy here shopped that s**t. akashi corp don't just let stuff like this happen. you know what happens to players they find modding…

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"You're _so_ bad at this."

"Ah, sorry, KAGAMI-kun."

It was honestly incredible to see just how poorly coordinated Kuroko could be. His stamina was shit, and he aimed his magic bolts like he was attempting to thread a needle and failing at it spectacularly. They still hadn't left the beginner areas, spending their time trying to complete all the quests instead. While it wasn't exactly Kagami's idea of fun, he couldn't say that he was having a horrible time, either. Even if being around Kuroko made things go painstakingly slow, he supposed there was also something enjoyable about just taking his time and watching the other flounder around.

He wasn't expecting the party invitation when he'd logged in today, both surprised and deafened as the computer voice announced that **'Kuroko-Tetsu_05 would like to invite you to their party. Do you accept?' **It took him a second to think of who Kuroko-Tetsu_05 actually was, but when he remembered he almost said no. Then he thought about it, and figured it couldn't hurt. It was a very similar thought process to what he'd experienced the night before, and he figured it would be something he'd repeat almost indefinitely in the future.

But, and Kagami was loathe to admit it, it had been nice to be invited by someone. It wasn't that he minded playing on a team, not really. In fact, the VR game he'd previously played before coming to Japan was where he'd gained a lot of his experience, and that was mostly because he'd joined the party invitations of other players. But after moving away from America, he could no longer access the American servers where his friends were. Japan felt empty and unfamiliar when he realized there wasn't anyone he could really connect to. It was culture shock, he supposed, like suddenly being removed from a warm bath and thrown into the cold, choking waters of a vast sea. He was tall and intimidating to many of the smaller students at his high school, and he probably came off as a punk or unapproachable. Japan's culture was also incredibly different to what he'd grown used to in America, and he found himself struggling to adjust. The usual outlet for his frustrations, the virtual reality gameworld where he could see people he'd grown to trust and had bonded with, was now obsolete.

He had figured Zero Event would just be something he'd have to solo, to chew at the empty hours he'd otherwise spend puttering around his apartment or working out. He hadn't planned on meeting someone like Kuroko, who was infuriating and helpful in equal measure.

"You're spacing out."

"Wha?" he responded eloquently, looking around before realizing that Kuroko had spoken, standing before him with a blank expression.

Kuroko ignored his inattentiveness, instead stating, "I've completed the quest. We can move on to the next area."

"Oh. Ok," Kagami said, removing himself from the post he'd been leaning against. He'd finished the quest a good twenty minutes earlier. They had been ordered to sneak up on a few pig-like creatures with gigantic bat ears, who were easily startled at even the slightest noise. Kagami had accomplished it no problem, with a few well-placed spear strikes. His higher level meant an easy takedown. Kuroko, seemingly perfect for stealth, had a lot more difficulty simply based on the fact that the moment he managed to land his first hit, the pig would run, and he'd be left to trail after it, as fast as his puny legs could carry him. Aiming at a moving target while running was a struggle that left his shots going wide and usually ended up gaining the aggro of nearby, decidedly non-pig-like enemies. At some point Kagami started feeling bad and would come over to help the healer with some of the massive hordes of enemies he'd managed to aggro together, but mostly he'd kept off to the side, laughing his ass off as Kuroko sprinted across the field. The other enemies would scare away all the bat-pigs and force him to start from scratch.

If Kuroko was bothered by the incredible amount of time it had taken him to finish, it didn't show. His unruffled features left Kagami guessing for the other player's current mood. It was unnerving to see someone so…emotionless, he guessed. It was also difficult to keep track of him. In the two hours they'd spent partied together, Kagami had easily forgotten that the other player was walking with him at least a dozen times. More often than not, it was the enemy hordes trailing behind Kuroko that caught his attention. How could one player attract so much aggro, and a seemingly invisible one at that?

He'd asked, and Kuroko had only said something like, "Monsters like me, I guess." Which made no sense, but honestly, a lot of things didn't make sense around Kuroko.

"Well," Kagami muttered, pulling up his quest log and checking the area for any unfinished tutorial quests. There was only one he could see; he'd yet to complete the Sun Lily quest. "Hey, I didn't finish that flower mission. Let's go back. You didn't give her the flower either, right? …Kuroko?"

He dismissed his quest window only to see that Kuroko had once again vanished from sight. "Ugh. Annoying little shit. Kuroko! Hey!"

"KAGAMI-kun," a quiet voice called. Coming from his left, Kagami surmised. He wandered off the dirt trail next to the shack and small pasture where they'd completed the bat-pig quest, shoving through a thicket of trees to see Kuroko kneeling next to a hole in the leaf-strewn earth, a large egg nestled into his lap. It was about the size of a basketball, its shell a glossy black. A white ovoid was plastered on one side, with two tinier aqua circles marring the middle. Kuroko balanced it carefully, rubbing dirt off the surface with his white cloak.

"Stop running off!" he growled, kicking through a pile of fallen leaves and squatting next to the healer. He made sure to shove a bit at the other's shoulder as he went. "The hell is this? An egg?"

Kuroko shoved back, almost tipping Kagami over, before replying, "It appears so. Finding eggs like this is rare. It's lucky to find something like this in the beginner areas."

"What's it supposed to do?" Kagami asked, peering at the blue dots on the side. The circles closed simultaneously and then opened again, almost like blinking.

"Eggs can have companions inside them. A lot of the time, you have to buy a companion at a stable, and the variety is limited. With an egg, the way you raise it can change what's inside," Kuroko intoned, tracing a slim finger across the shell until it met the white patch. The blue dots gravitated towards his hand, blinking curiously. "They watch the things you do, and learn. It's difficult to make them hatch. A lot of things can go wrong. They might not even like their owner, and refuse to hatch at all."

"Sounds like a pain."

"Perhaps, but I've heard it's worthwhile if they manage it. A companion that's perfectly suited to your needs. In battle, in exploration, in any number of things. I guess you could say it's your best friend. The one who knows you best."

Kagami glanced up briefly from the egg, hearing the odd, wistful tone in Kuroko's voice. His eyelids had lowered, staring at the egg in what Kagami could only think of as fondness. It made Kuroko look young and vulnerable, if he was honest. Like a doll, wrapped in his short, bell-like cloak and dark leggings, grasping at the egg as though it were a lifeline.

"Then…I guess take good care of it?" he finally decided to say, the silence stretching as Kuroko continued to stroke the shell of the egg softly. He scratched his neck, finding the words awkward and thick on his tongue. Wouldn't someone usually be excited to find something so rare?

"I will," Kuroko said. He motioned to pull up his inventory, pausing as he realized there was no more room to place the egg inside. Out of space, he began sifting through the items he could possibly get rid of, drawing out a few sellable monster drops and, of all things, the glittering orange Sun Lily.

"Don't get rid of that," Kagami immediately said. "We need it to finish up the last quest here, remember? It's still bugging the shit out of me that you managed to grab that and I had to run away from those things."

Kuroko blinked, picking up the flower in question and holding it up to the light. In the verdant luster of the forested grove, its brilliance seemed slightly dulled. The blue dots on the egg were riveted to the lily, bobbing up and down at the edge of the white patch.

"I suppose," Kuroko agreed. "But…"

"But?"

"Maybe it's better that we never managed to finish it."

"Why?" Sure the tutorial quests were optional, but it was still free experience and money. The quest area wasn't even that far away. Looking quickly at the map, Kagami figured he could sprint the distance in about two minutes.

Kuroko twirled the Sun Lily by its stem, scattering its golden sparkles about like rain. They settled across his face and hair, and poured down upon the egg in a small shower. After a moment of contemplation, he admitted, "I've done this quest before. The little girl wants the flower to help cure her mother. When she receives the flower, a long quest chain opens."

"Isn't that supposed to be a good thing?" Kagami asked, standing from his squat next to the other.

"It is. In some respects, Zero Event is as fantastical as any normal MMO. But in others, it can be incredibly real. Sometimes, it's difficult to see it as only a game, KAGAMI-kun.

"The mother is already dead by the time you deliver the Sun Lily. It never changes. I suppose I don't like doing it because it's futile. No matter what I do, the end is always the same."

And the way Kuroko said it, the finality, made Kagami feel as though there was some greater meaning hovering just at the edge of those words. Something fleeting he couldn't grasp but desperately wanted to.

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Kagami still went back to complete the quest. Even though it was bothersome to have to climb all the way back up, grab the flower, and then climb down the sheer cliff again, it scratched an itch that had been niggling the back of his mind constantly since the night before. Leaving things undone just wasn't his way. Kuroko staying behind and not scaring the shit out of him also made things about ten times easier.

The little girl had gushed about receiving the flower, tears of relief welling from her eyes before she ran off with the Sun Lily. It made him smile a little, to see her actually kiss the flower petals and then hug his leg, not even able to reach his waist. The NPC was amazingly lifelike, much more so than the others. Probably to accommodate the long quest chain Kuroko had mentioned.

The computerized voice cheerfully announced he'd received a paltry amount of experience and money, and then had immediately launched a new key quest to follow the little girl back to her house in the woods.

It turned out to be the same woods Kuroko had found the egg in. The healer had remained in his spot on the ground, holding the egg and glancing at Kagami as he walked past. He traveled further into the woods, the bright green hues of the trees steadily growing darker the further in he went. The trunks grew closer together and towered over him. It felt as claustrophobic as the stone trees on top of the cliff. The area was also oddly silent, and no monsters prowled through the underbrush. He almost expected the Watchers to pop out with their creepy clicking fingers every time he snapped a branch, but nothing appeared.

At last he emerged into a small clearing with a picturesque cottage wedged into a few oaks close to the center of the glade. Wilted flowers littered the outside of the house, moldy wooden shafts of abandoned gardening tools poking out from the weedy beds. A well sat in disrepair near a wooden stump, an axe embedded in the wood and a sloppy pile of chopped logs gathered next to it. The door to the cottage stood ajar, and faint sobbing could be heard coming from within.

Kagami ducked under the low doorway, catching sight of the little girl kneeling at the side of a bed located close to the fireplace, voice a keening cry as she squalled into ratty, patched up blankets. "Mama! Mama! Wake up, please wake up! I got it, I got the Sun Lily just like you told me to, please wake up!"

The body lying in the bed, face sunken and already beginning to show signs of decay, didn't stir.

The girl suddenly turned to him, startled, though he hadn't made any sort of noise to indicate that he was there. Her face shriveled into something angry and cruel, tears dripping down reddened cheeks as she screamed at him. "Why couldn't you be faster! Why?! Why didn't you try harder? She was supposed to be okay! Why?! Why couldn't I save her?"

She trailed off into babbling again, chest heaving for air as she screamed. In desperation she shook the body's shoulder, knocking aside the Sun Lily that had been draped across the mother's blankets. Its petals, once so brilliant, were now dull and lifeless, the promise of light extinguished in stifling, stagnant despair.

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The next key quest pop up had demanded for Kagami to bury the body. The little girl had screamed at him to unhand her mother, that maybe if she got another Sun Lily it would work, that maybe the first hadn't had time to grant her wish yet, that her only important person in the world couldn't possibly be gone.

It was uncomfortable, and for all that Kagami had a strong stomach, actually carrying the body outside was a terrible test of will that had him gagging at the stench and dead weight. He rooted around the flower beds as the girl finally quieted, finding a shovel in the mess of gardening tools left to rot and mildew outside.

As he dug the blade into the soft, damp earth, he heard the girl whisper, "Please don't bury my mama. Please. Why are you doing this? I don't want to be alone.

"Please don't leave me alone."

Kagami felt his eyes beginning to burn. Maybe Kuroko had been on to something, about this game being far too real sometimes. There was no reason to be sad—to be crying, of all things—but he couldn't seem to help it. It was an inexplicable heaviness on his heart, pressing hard, bruising fingers around it until he could hardly breathe. His brother stayed at the forefront of his mind, now so far away he couldn't possibly reach him. He hadn't really let himself think of the one person he missed the most since he'd left the States. He sniffed, willing the tears back, and began to dig.

He was only a few shovelfuls in when another shovel joined his in tearing apart the ground. He glanced up briefly, taking in Kuroko's blank face as he heaved a spade full of dirt away from the forming hole.

Yes, he thought. He could understand why it was Kuroko didn't like this part. Finding a light in the darkness, only to learn that there was no light at all. Believing in wishes, only to learn that they couldn't come true. Being alone, when you once were surrounded by the people you'd come to love.

If things always came to the same end, why bother? Why couldn't they stay as they were?

But even knowing it was futile, he had carried on. Kuroko had come, helping to bear the oppressive weight of what now seemed like failure. Whether it was truly an exercise in futility or simply that they didn't know how to give up, Kagami wasn't sure. He was afraid; of being alone, being abandoned.

The way Kuroko's shoulder bumped into his arm, a reminder that he was there, was strangely reassuring, and Kagami found himself bumping back.

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"There's more to the story," Kuroko says out of the blue as they exit the small clump of forest, back onto the friendly, sunlit trail meandering past the dumpy shack and pasture. Here, the sky was an untainted blue, caressed by a strong breeze and the scent of sea salt. "It comes later on. Many players skip it, since the rewards don't equal the effort."

"Eh, well. We've already started it, right? I guess I'll finish it up," Kagami said, staring absently at the dollops of white clouds peppering the horizon. He started walking along the trail, half an eye on his map. "I hate not finishing stuff. Even if it's not too happy, it's better than just giving up."

Kuroko was silent for a while, simply walking beside him. It was a few minutes before he withdrew the egg from his inventory, holding it in his arms so the eyes faced outward. The blue dots whirled around, taking in their surroundings. After another minute of deliberation, Kuroko spoke, "I agree with you, KAGAMI-kun. Even if it's difficult, I'd rather try than do nothing at all. I think for a while, I'd forgotten that feeling. I'm glad that you reminded me."

"You don't sound glad," Kagami wheedled, very obviously leaning over to peer at the healer's face.

"I'm so glad I could cry," Kuroko said, face and voice as monotone as possible.

"You look like a brick wall."

A swift jab to the ribs was Kuroko's only reply, but even as he was cussing the healer out, Kagami could see the faintest hint of a smile on the other boy's lips.

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I started this chapter thinking, 'Hey let's get the plot moving,' and ended it with, 'Well fuck you can never have too much angst or fluff.' You guys may or may not mind, who knows! I don't think I get enough hits on this story to worry about trivial stuff like actual plot development. D This story addresses themes of loss and loneliness, and how we come to find ways to cope with the perceived loss.

Hmm…and I guess I'll say. Kuroko is thinking of someone very specific when he gets the egg, which is why he's petting it. The image of Kuroko toting around an egg and talking to it is pretty cute and I'm gonna draw it!

**Why is the game called Zero Event?:** because I'm uncreative as hell, lol. In the prologue, I realized I hadn't come up with a name for the game, just before I was about to post it. I had stuck in the placeholder name 'Endless Fantasy,' since I was writing listening to the Endless Fantasy album by Anamanaguchi. I'm taking a statistics course right now, and at the time of writing it, we were going over probability. Probability is any decimal number between 0 and 1. If the probability is 0, then that means the event is impossible. I wanted to play off the fantasy name. Zero Event basically means 'something that can never occur, impossible,' just like fantasy, right? So basically it's my way of being ~creative~ with my titles.

**Remember to check out the 'knb event horizon' tag on tumblr to see fic snippets and doodles! Just uploaded a quick sketch of Kuroko's current outfit.** Thanks to Xardogn and Aimiera for reviewing, and the peeps who followed the story!


	6. Intermission I

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**Event Horizon**

_Intermission I_

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_**If you want—**_

This had been a mistake.

_**Please come to me, my dear, please come—**_

A terrible mistake, and he'd known better and yet—_**I miss you, my other half**_—he hadn't listened.

The world was fading in and out, flashing bright colors that changed the sky to crimson and then black, unreadable code hovering over other players' heads. The edges of his vision were cracking, the sharp, spidery lines webbing out like clinging, reaching hands. He felt his heartbeat in his ears, thudding a sickening tempo that dropped him to his knees and caused the world to spin wildly.

Nothing seemed to focus, constantly shifting under him, a vast sea waiting to engulf his tiny existence. The heartbeat was a roar, and the roar was a voice, and it whispered—_**I**_—unintelligible—_**need**_—indecipherable—_**you**_—words.

He couldn't breathe. Gasping in air, he could only see the golden eye staring unblinkingly at him on his arm. It saw him, saw _through_ him, and froze him to the core. He had to run, to get away, but his legs were cemented to the cobblestone street, the same back alley he'd originally logged out of when he last used this avatar. In between his shuddering heartbeats he could hear something like footsteps, walking closer and closer. They were monstrous, the steps of a giant, and they rattled his bones.

All he had wanted was to get in contact with Valient Knite. To see if he'd come online at all since the incident in the dungeon. He hadn't replied to any of his mails, nor responded to a contact request from his new account. Despite not knowing the other player well, he felt obligated to make sure he was alright. The thought had bothered him for days now. Where was Valient Knite?

It felt too much like that time. Too much like watching his friend disappear, and he couldn't, not again.

A pair of boots entered his frenetic vision, and he found himself being turned, gaze forcefully pulled from the ground. A boy with silvery eyes was shaking him slightly, brows furrowed in concern. Kuroko could see his lips moving, but heard nothing but those ominous footsteps, an unseen titan on the horizon looming up from the shadows.

The boy gave him another shake, knocking his focus back to the other's eyes. Slate, not gold. He had to go.

He took in a shuddery breath, shoved away from the other player and forced himself to logout.

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He scrabbled at the DIVE headset clamped over his eyes, nails catching the smooth plastic edges before he threw it across the room. At another time he might have found this behavior volatile and uncalled for, since headsets weren't exactly cheap, but now all he could think about was the heaviness in his gut.

He pitched forward and vomited in the trashcan next to his desk, eyes watering. The heaviness lifted slightly, though it still sat like a stone within him, something dark and not quite right. His head pounded, and the sun filtering through his window was too bright. Trying to lift himself to walk to his bed, he found his knees to be weak and useless.

Crawling forward, he pulled himself away from his desk, panting at the effort before settling beside his bed. Mouth acrid with the taste of bile, Kuroko lay in the dark shadow cast from the bed, trying to ignore the beating of his own heart.

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Long time no see, huh? Well uh…you guys can….have this….ahahaha? I got a bit bogged down by school and playing GW2. As a grinding queen I needed to level my first ever character into a badass level 80 mesmer. I've been having trouble deciding how I want to proceed, but I have a few ideas and I'll start writing the rest of ch. 5 tomorrow. Acknowledgments will be in the next chapter, but thanks for your support, guys! I'll respond to reviews and stuff the night before I post a new chapter. See ya!


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